Improvement in feather-renovators



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE."

ALFRED w. BALLARD AND DIAN B. WIRT, 0E MAooN, MISSOURL IMPROVEMENT IN FEATHER-RENOVATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 17 1,544, dated December 28, 1875; application filed November 6, 1875.

To all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that We, ALFRED W. BALLARD and DIAN B. WIRT, of Macon, in the county of Macon and State of Missouri, have invented a new and valuable Improvement in a Portable Feather-Renovator; and we do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings making a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a representation of a cross-section of my feather-renovator. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section.

This invention has relation to machines which are designed for steaming, purifying, and drying feathers, so as to remove effete matter from them. 4

The nature of my invention consists in a drum having peripheral chambers and openings through its top and bottom, which are provided with wire-gauze covers, in com bination with a flange which surrounds the bottom opening, and with internal revolving stirrers and dusting-brushes, as will be hereinafter explained.

In the annexed drawings, A designates a drum, which is preferably made of sheet metal, secured tightly to two heads, and B designates a shaft, which is supported upon standardsD D. Shaft B is free to be turned when the cylinder Ais stationary, and inside of this cylin der arms a aare fixed to shaft B, and have brushes 1) b secured to theirextremities, which sweep around and stir up the feathers, and also, when necessary, clean out the cylinder. 0 O designate chambers, of crescent form, which are 011 each side of the cylinder A, and which have inlets n n and outlets '6 6. (Shown in Fig. 1.) F designates a hinged door, which covers an opening provided with a wire-gauze frame, a, which latter is removable. At the bottom of the cylinderAis an opening, which is provided with a removable wire-gauze cover, h, and which is surrounded externally by a flaring flange, g. The frame h is made to slide endwise in and out of its place. Between the longest portions of the flange g and strips 1", which are permanently secured to the cylinder, are keys 6,6, which are used for securing a bedtick to the flange g. g

The feathers are introduced into the cylinder A through the opening in its upper end,

which opening is then closed by the door F. Steam is now introduced into the cylinder A through a pipe, J, and opening J, and the feathers are at the same time stirred up by rotating shaft B. When the feathers have been properly steamed the bed-tick is attached, as described, to the flange g, the screen h is removed, and the feathers are dried by introducing steam into the chambers O O. The dried and purified feathers are returned directly into the bed-tick.

. What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with the cylinder A, having drying-chambers 0 O and a steam-inlet, J, the'revolving shaft B, provided with brushes b, which serve a twofold purposeto wit, to stir up the feathers and clean out the cylinder-substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a feather-renovator, of the flaring flange g, strips 7', and keys 6, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

In testimony that we claim the above we have hereunto subscribed our names in the presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED W. BALLARD. DIAN B. WIRT. Witnesses THOMAS J. NORRIS, ALBERT WOODINGTON. 

